King County Council calls on state lawmakers to act on revenue options for counties

January 12, 2009

Summary

State legislative agenda seeks flexibility for counties to set local fees and revenue sources to avert another budget crisis

Story

As the state Legislature convenes today in Olympia, one of its priorities must be to fix the broken structure for providing revenues for all counties across the state, according to the state legislative agenda unanimously adopted today by the Metropolitan King County Council.

“We are calling on the state Legislature to give us the tools and flexibility we need to maintain the public safety and public health services our citizens expect,” said new Council Chair Dow Constantine. “The Council was able to protect these key functions for the first half of 2009, but not without a painful round of cuts. We need the Legislature’s help to ensure that critical services can continue past June, and that even deeper cuts will not be required for 2010 and beyond.”

“The regional services that the county provides on behalf of the state, including the courts, the sheriff, and public health, are all in jeopardy unless the state provides sustainable revenue options for counties,” said new Council Vice Chair Bob Ferguson. “I’m hopeful that state and county officials can come together to find a workable solution, and ensure that critical services are maintained for our shared constituencies.”

Counties were created as a governmental subdivision of the state of Washington to provide public safety through the sheriff, justice through the prosecutor and the courts, and basic health and life safety through the public-health department. All Washington counties are experiencing shortfalls from a financing structure that provides revenues only from the property tax and sales tax – fewer sources than those provided to cities. Several counties in Eastern Washington already face bankruptcy and rely on direct state contributions to keep their doors open.

Among the urgent actions called for in King County’s 2009 State Legislative Agenda are:

• Flexibility in the use of existing county funding authorities – Give counties flexibility to set local fees to recover the costs of delivering services, and flexibility in using current and future revenue sources.

• Local option unincorporated utility tax – Give counties the option of adopting a utility tax in unincorporated communities with which counties can fund criminal justice and local services.

• New or modified regional public health and safety funding source – Create revenue tools for services such as criminal justice and public health.

• Dedicated new revenue source to fund public health – Create a predictable and long-term source for funding public health statewide – one that grows at a rate equal to the rate of doing business – and authorize appropriate revenue options for local health jurisdictions to raise funds to protect and promote the public’s health.

“Keeping Sheriff’s deputies on the streets, drug and mental health courts running, the doors open at community health clinics, and our human services safety net intact are our top priorities for working this year with Olympia,” said Councilmember Larry Phillips, who led adoption of the County’s 2009 budget. “We need critical changes in revenues for county government, so that King County’s budget can keep pace with the cost of providing the services on which our citizens rely.”

“We need these tools to retain programs that keep people out of our criminal justice system, including prevention and intervention programs and alternatives to incarceration,” said Councilmember Larry Gossett, chair of the Council’s Budget and Fiscal Management Committee for 2009. “If not, we will only see rising costs in our public safety budget in the very near future.”

“Public health interventions like immunizations, restaurant inspections, water safety testing and disease control are proven to improve the overall health of our community,” said Councilmember Julia Patterson, chair of the King County Board of Health. “If we wish to reduce health care costs and increase the quality of life and health of King County residents, the state of Washington must provide public health funding or funding options. This is my number one legislative priority.”

The State Legislative Agenda also calls for legislation to promote the rapid deployment of electric vehicle infrastructure and batteries, promote consumer adoption of electric vehicles, and support the electric vehicle industry through investment in research and development.

“I am eager to have projects funded that are ready to break ground but short on money, particularly those on the Eastside,” said Council Vice-Chair Jane Hague, sponsor of a motion calling for study of the potential installation of charging stations for a new generation of electric hybrid vehicles. “Opportunities for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles to charge their batteries at Metro Park-and-Rides and funding for our bus fleets are also key elements of this agenda.”

The Council today also adopted its 2009 Federal Legislative Agenda to provide guidance for the state’s Congressional delegation:

• Salmon recovery – Funding for the Duwamish/Green Ecosystem Restoration Program and the Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Restoration Project in the Energy and Water Appropriations bill, and $90 million for the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Program, which is critical to habitat recovery projects in King County.

• Transportation – Funding to expand the Metro Transit hybrid bus fleet, purchase passenger-only ferries for operation by the Marine Division, and replace the aging South Park Bridge.

• Health care reform - Secure $350,000 in the Department of Health and Human Service’s Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services Appropriation for the Puget Sound Health Alliance, for development of a health information database to measure and share quality-of-care information across employers and health plans in the Puget Sound region.


State Legislative Agenda

Federal Legislative Agenda